Chondroitinsulfuric Acid

(chondroitin sulfate), any of three polysaccharides that are the main constituent of cartilaginous and bony tissues, the cornea, and certain other types of connective tissue in vertebrates. Chondroitinsulfuric acids A, B, and C are the three types of the acid. A and C are linear heteropolymers consisting of sulfuric acid and alternating radicals of N-acetyl galactosamine and D-glucuronic acid; they differ only in the position of the sulfuric acid radicals. Condroitinsulfuric acid B (also known as dermatosulfate and β-heparin) contains not D-glucuronic acid but its isomer, α-iduronic acid. Chondroitinsulfuric acids are found in nature in complexes with proteins, to which they are joined by covalent bonds.